•2 7 



nally diminishing in size as they reach the summit of the plant, the 

 lower leaves being- borne on stalks, while the upper ones are stemless. 

 They are thin, oblong or oval, blunt, irregularly toothed, and almost 

 wavy, with short hairs on both surfaces. 



From July until frost the rather inconspicuous, very small pale- 

 blue flowers appear. These are very numerous, each one borne in the 

 axils of the upper leaves on very short stems, all together forming a 

 long, spike-like head. The lower lip of the flower has three lobes, the 

 upper one two segments, and from the center of the latter the tube of 

 the flower is cleft to the base. The seed pods are in the form of in- 

 flated capsules, nearly globular, striated (grooved or marked with 

 parallel lines), and contain very numerous minute dark-brown seeds. 



Parts used. — The leaves and flowering tops are used in medicine, and 

 there is also a good demand for the seed. The leaves and tops should 

 be gathered after some of the pods have become inflated, should be 

 dried in the shade, and when dry kept in covered vessels. The dried 

 leaves and top- have a rather disagreeable, somewhat sickening odor, 

 and the taste, though mild at first, soon becomes strongly acrid and 

 nauseous. The seeds are extremely minute, and each capsule is said 

 to contain from 450 to 500 seeds. 



Lobelia is an expectorant, acts upon the nervous system and bowels, 

 causes vomiting, and is poisonous. 



Price. — The price paid for the dried leaves and tops ranges from 3 



to 8 cents per pound, and that for the seed from 15 to 20 cents per 



poimd. 



TANSY. 



Taaacelum vulgare L. 



Other common names. — Bitter buttons, ginger plant, parsley fern, 

 scented fern. (Fig. 16.) 



Range and habitat. — Tansy was originally introduced into this 

 country a- a garden plant from Europe, where it is native. It has now 

 escaped from cultivation and is found as a weed along waysides and 

 fences in many places from New England to Minnesota and southward 

 to North Carolina and Missouri. 



Description. — This strong-scented perennial herb belongs to the aster 

 family (Asteracea?). The stout, erect stem is from \\ to 3 feet high, 

 branching near the top, somewhat reddish, and usually smooth. 

 The general outline of the leai is oval, and it is divided nearly to the 

 midrib into about seven pairs of segments, which, like the terminal 

 one, are again divided for about two-thirds of the distance to the mid- 

 vein into -mailer lobes having saw-toothed margins. The entire leaf 

 is about 6 inches in length. 



Tansy is in flower from July to September, and the roundish but 

 Hat-topped yellow flower heads are produced in dense terminal clusters. 



